Dec 20, 2009

An Execration upon Vulcan | An Execration upon Vulcan

At a glance:

Author: Ben Jonson
First Published: 1640
Type of Work: Meditation
Genres: Poetry, Meditation, Cavalier poetry
Subjects: Mythology or myths, Books, England or English people, War, Seventeenth century, Gods or goddesses, London, Fire, Greek or Roman times, Rome

The Poem

This 216-line poem of heroic couplets was written on the occasion of a fire that destroyed Ben Jonson’s house and—most important—his books, in November of 1623. It derives its form from an attack on the Roman god Vulcan (Hephaestus in Greek myth), the god of fire and metalworking. A denigrated and crippled god, rejected by his mother, Juno, thrown from heaven by his father, Jupiter, Vulcan was married to, and cuckolded by, Venus, the goddess of love.

The poem starts with Jonson protesting his innocence. He has never ridiculed Vulcan or courted his wife. It...

[The entire page is 1408 words long]

An Execration upon Vulcan | An Execration upon Vulcan

At a glance:

The Poem

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